Dichorionic triplets following frozen-thawed poor-stage embryo transfer: A report of two cases and a review

Abstract

Background: We describe two cases of dichorionic triplet pregnancy after a frozen-thawed poor-stage embryo transfer. Main body of the abstract: A 39-year-old and a 41-year-old woman underwent ART treatment. The first patient underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) at 34years of age, and two frozen-thawed poor-stage embryos were transferred at 39years of age with assisted hatching, resulting in a trichorionic triamniotic triplet pregnancy. The second patient underwent ICSI, and two poor-grade blastocysts were transferred followed by assisted hatching, resulting in a dichorionic triamniotic triplet pregnancy. In the first case, the heartbeat of one monozygotic twin fetus had stopped on day 48 post-transfer (9weeks 2days), resulting in a dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy. A healthy boy and girl were delivered by elective caesarean section at 36weeks, 5-days gestation. In the second case, the patient underwent selective reduction of the monochorionic twins, resulting in a single pregnancy that was vaginally delivered without any problems at 38weeks 0-days gestation. Short conclusions: Numerous factors may be associated with the development of a monochorionic pregnancy; however, controversies still remain. The present morphological grading for embryos is insufficient for inhibiting the development of a monochorionic pregnancy.